the Commander of the Faithful—may God prolong his life—holds: strict adherence to the Sunnah and open opposition to the people of innovation.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal says: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā questioned me about everyone named in this booklet, and I answered him with what he has written down. My eyes were ailing and my body weak, so I was unable to write in my own hand. Accordingly, my son ʿAbd Allah placed this signature at the bottom of the page, at my command and in my presence.

From his personal conduct:

ʿAbd al-Malik al-Maymūnī said, “I never saw Abū ʿAbd Allah’s turban except that it was tied beneath his chin, and I noticed that he disliked any other manner.”

Abū Muslim Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl relates: Ṣāliḥ ibn Aḥmad told us, “I went with my father to the congregational mosque on a Friday, but we arrived after the people had dispersed. My father entered the mosque— Ibrāhīm ibn Hāniʾ was with us—stepped forward, and led us in four rakʿahs of the Zuhr prayer. He said, ‘Ibn Masʿūd did the same for ʿAlqamah and al-Aswad.’

Whenever my father entered a cemetery he would remove his sandals and carry them in his hand.”

Yaḥyā ibn Manda reports in Virtues of Aḥmad: al-Bayhaqī narrated to us, saying: al-Ḥākim narrated to us; I heard Yaḥyā ibn Manṣūr say, “I heard my uncle ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Jārūd say, ‘I heard Muḥammad ibn Sahl ibn ʿAskar say: I was with Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal when Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā entered. Aḥmad stood up for him, which astonished the people. He then said to his sons and companions, “Go to Abū ʿAbd Allah and take down what he narrates.” ’ ”

Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Sufyān said: I heard ʿĀṣim ibn ʿIṣām al-Bayhaqī say, “I spent a night with Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. He brought some water and set it beside me. When morning came he saw the water unchanged and exclaimed, ‘Glory be to Allah! A man seeking knowledge yet he has no portion of worship at night?’ ”